Unclear whether Sainsbury’s restructure plans will impact on Sleaford’s store

The supermarket chain says it is restructuring to address the shift to online shopping and concentrate on delivering its food and grocery business.

Bosses are mainly targeting the stand alone Argos stores whuch it acquired with the brand, that it has not yet transferred into supermarkets and expects to leave only about 100 after the restructure by March 2024. Many had not reopened since the March lockdown.

The company wanted to take advantage of Argos’ fast delivery system to catch up with rivals, but has spent millions to integrate the two sides of the business. Even so, Sainsbury’s says pre-tax profits are expected to be at least five per cent higher than last year at £301 million, reflecting stronger sales, particularly as it saw digital sales up 117 per cent to £5.8 billion, nearly 40 per cent of total sales and in store grocery sales were up 102 per cent thanks to the surge in public demand when all other shops, pubs and restaurants were closed during lockdown.

Deli, meat and fish counters had also been temporarily closed to reduce food waste during lockdown with staff shifted to other roles and the firm has opted to make that permanent as demand changes, it says.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “Customer shopping habits are changing and we have taken the decision to permanently close our meat, fish and deli counters.

“We will continue to offer pizza, hot food, patisserie and some bakery services, along with an even wider range of products to choose from on shelf in store.

“Colleagues affected have been supporting other parts of our stores while the counters have been closed since the early stages of the pandemic and we will redeploy as many people as possible to alternative roles. We understand this will be an unsettling time and will support them in any way we can.”

The spokesman could not be specific about whether any jobs were at risk at the Sleaford store as they could not pre-empt the consultation process, but re-emphasised: “We will redeploy as many people as possible to permanent, alternative roles.”

Chief Executive Simon Roberts said: “As we go into lockdown in England for the second time this year and restrictions are in place across the UK, we know our customers and colleagues are feeling anxious and we will do all we can to support them. Our colleagues have done an exceptional job going above and beyond for our customers every day which is why we are giving our frontline colleagues a second 10 per cent thank you payment.

“We also want to support our communities and those in need and are creating a £5 million community fund for local charities and good causes, in addition to the £7 million we donated to Fareshare and Comic Relief earlier this year. We want to do our bit to ensure that no one goes hungry at Christmas and to support those most in need.

“COVID-19 has accelerated a number of shifts in our industry. Investments over recent years in digital and technology have laid the foundations for us to flex and adapt quickly as customers needed to shop differently. Around 19 per cent of our sales were digital this time last year and nearly 40 per cent of our sales are digital today.

“While we are working hard to help feed the nation through the pandemic, we have also spent time thinking about how we deliver for our customers and our shareholders over the longer term.

“We will put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s. We are already working to make this happen – we have lowered prices on over 1,500 every day grocery products over the past few months and we will do more of this, focusing on the staple products that our customers buy every day. We know that customers are feeling the pinch and we want them to feel confident they will get always get great value, quality and service from Sainsbury’s.

“To support our ambition in food, we are accelerating our ambition to structurally reduce our cost base right across the business so we can invest faster back into our core food offer.

“Our other brands - Argos, Habitat, Tu, Nectar and Sainsbury’s Bank - must deliver for their customers and for our shareholders in their own right. Argos sales have been strong over the past six months and we have gained almost two million new customers as people have re-connected with Argos. Over the next three years we will make Argos a simpler, more efficient and more profitable business while still offering customers great convenience and value and improving availability. We will also make Habitat more widely available in Sainsbury’s and Argos, giving customers access to stylish home and furniture products at more affordable prices. We are talking to colleagues today about where the changes we are announcing in Argos standalone stores and food counters impact their roles. We will work really hard to find alternative roles for as many of these colleagues as possible and expect to be able to offer alternative roles for the majority of impacted colleagues.”

The firm says Covid-19 has accelerated its plans to integrate Argos into the business. By March 2024 they will open up to 150 more Argos stores in Sainsbury’s and add 150-200 more Argos collection points in supermarkets and convenience stores, so that every Sainsbury’s supermarket will have either an Argos store in store or a collection point.

Habitat will become their main home and furniture brand in Argos and Sainsbury’s.

They expect all the changes to generate at least £600 million of annual additional funding by March 2024 to reinvest.

Shopworkers’ trade union Usdaw is to enter into consultation meetings with Sainsbury’s/Argos management over their proposed restructuring.

Dave Gill – Usdaw National Officer says: “Sainsbury’s/Argos has briefed us on their plans to restructure the business, which includes the proposed permanent closure of a number of Argos stores and counter services in Sainsbury’s supermarkets that were closed in March, at the beginning of the first lockdown. We will now enter into meaningful consultation to examine the proposals.

“Usdaw is confident of securing redeployment within the business for vast majority of staff affected. Our priority is to safeguard their jobs and achieve the best deal possible for staff. In the meantime we are providing Usdaw members with the support and advice they need.”